Tech

Panasonic swings to profit but misses forecasts

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Panasonic Corp. said Friday it swung to a profit in the October-December quarter despite challenging market conditions, though the results still fell short of market expectations.

Panasonic said it turned a fiscal third-quarter profit of 32.3 billion yen ($36 million), compared to a loss of 63.1 billion yen in the same quarter a year before.

"Despite visible signs of market recovery in some regions such as China and [elsewhere in] Asia, severe business condition continued, with changes in the market structure including demand shifts to emerging markets and lower-priced products," it said in its earnings statement.

It said earnings were also helped by a "comprehensive streamlining of management."

Panasonic kept its forecast for a net loss of 140 billion yen in the full fiscal year ending March 31, but raised its sales forecast for the period to 7.35 billion yen from a previous 7 billion yen projection.

"Although the global economy seems to be on the way to recovery, severe business condition continues with appreciation of the yen and ever-intensified global price competition," it said.

It also said it was beginning "to work on maximizing synergies" from its 2008 acquisition of Sanyo Electric Co. and its subsidiaries.

Shares of Panasonic (6752)
PC
closed down 3.1% in Tokyo, compared to a 2.9% loss for the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

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